What is a prototype?

A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:

Proof of Concept

Explorations that test ideas and functionality.

Functional Prototype

Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.

Appearance Prototype

Looks like the final product, but is not functional.

Design Prototype

Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.

Production Prototype

Appearance, function, and manufacturing methods match the final product.

Prototype Gallery

These photos and videos provide a detailed look at this project’s development.

About

Everything
started thanks to the passion for watches. In 2012, Me and my friend
Nicolò, founded 2DStraps, a brand that we used to promote our handmade watch
straps made with genuine Italian leather.

This
hobby gave to us the opportunity to know a large number of watch enthusiast
and watchmakers so, thanks to them, we have improved our knowledge of this
wonderful world.

The
desire to make an all-ours timepiece increased and now, thanks to Kickstarter
and after 1 year of researches we are proud to present our
first dress watch project: Viqueria Roma.

Viqueria brand takes its origins
from the ancient Italian history because we want to give our products a
strong footprint that rise from our origins.

Viqueria is the ancient roman name given
during Middle Age to the city of Voghera, located in the north of Italy
far approximately 40 km from Milano. Our hometown was founded by Augustus,
a Roman politician and general considered the first Roman emperor,
controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.

Known in ancient times as Iria, it took its
name from the river on which it was situated. During Middle Age it was
destroyed by the Rugii, a tribe who migrated from southwest Norway.
After several lordships, it was acquired by the House of Savoy in 1743 with the
Concordat of Worms. Five years later it became provincial capital and received
the city status.

During World War II, owing to its strategic position
on the roads Milan-Genoa and Turin-Bologna, Voghera was heavily bombed by the
Allies.

Viqueria Roma is a classy automatic
watch, made in Italy, inspired from Rome and its Ancient Roman Empire.

We work with an industry-leading manufacturer in Italy with more
than 60 years of timepieces manufacturing and assembly experience to
ensure the top-notch quality of our watches. Our hometown is only 70km far from our manufacturer and this allow us to personally visit factory before and during production to personally review and oversee the production of your Viqueria Roma watch.

Our components are hand-finished to a high standard, we
make use of high-tech CNC-machining for the production of the watch case
and we use
certified materials and components that are free of harmful chemicals
that are used in some other factories.

Roma comes in three, stylish colour
combinations - the Tirreno Sea Blue comes with a navy bursting blue dial, the Etna
Vulcain Black comes with a black dial and the Alpi White comes with a silver pearl
dial. The watch dials are encased in a wonderful Stainless Steel Case with a double finish: polished and brushed.

Furthermore, the dial is realized with
the “sunburst” process that allows the metal to absorb and reflect light
differently depending on the ambient conditions, thus giving a change in the shades
and brightness that makes the watch unique.

The hands are designed to look like a
"Gladio", the ancient sword used by the Roman Empire Army.

The subdial at the 9 o'clock position,
is an hours repeater complication and is designed to look like the
"Colosseo" seen from the sky.

To complete the inspiration, the dial
tells time thanks to the stamped roman numerals and the crystal of the caseback is engraved with Viqueria logo.

The result is a versatile mechanical watch that is suitable for all the moments of our life. You could dress it a work but also during a lovely dinner with your soulmate.

"Leather makes your watch unique"

Viqueria Roma is proposed with handmade leather straps made by 2DStraps. These handmade leather straps are a luxurious choice in a timeless natural material. For a great wear of your watch, we only use fine Italian leathers, which are renowned for their quality.

Usually, worldwide, tanneries take care of the whole tanning process. As you might expect, the tanning process consists of many smaller steps that are usually performed in one single facility. A crude cowhide with meat and hair comes in. Out comes a nice vegetable tanned leather piece, ready to be turned into a bag, a shoe or a chair. If the tannery is weak in any of the smaller processes, the end product will suffer.

In Tuscany, where we buy leather, tanneries do not work this way. The small town where 2DStraps choose our leather consists of several companies, each specialized in a specific part of the tanning process. Every small company competes to be the one that takes care of its specialization. Skins move from specialist to specialist, receiving the best possible treatment there is for every part of the process.

3 Dial Colors + 12 Straps Colors = 36 color combinations!

Viqueira Roma will be also available with the "Colosseo" limited edition, that features a special closed caseback with the engraving of the famous Roman Colosseum.

This special limited edition will be available in 2017 numbered pieces (it's not possible to choose a specific number) and with free engraving of your name on the watch caseback!

Our aim is not to make a - want to be Swiss watch. Instead of focusing on a watch driven by specs, we have done great
effort to create a watch balanced in all the elements .

Miyota Movement

"One of the most solid automatic movement of the market"

The
Citizen Miyota 8217 is a robust and accurate automatic movement
manufactured by Citizen Miyota in Japan for a few decades now, having
had its debut in 1977. The 8217 is one of the strongest, most solid
automatic movements on the market. Miyota is the right alternative to an automatic Swiss watch.

It
is a 21 jewels movement beating at 21,600 bph or 3Hz (6 half-cycles per
second). Jewels, typically synthetic rubis are used in watch movements,
not to add to their value, but to reduce friction and wear on moving
parts. Lower end watches may have only 7 to 15 jewels. The standard for
quality watches is 17 jewels or more. Tipically, anything over 25 jewels
for these types of automatic movements are just for decoration.

Sapphire Crystal

"Scratch me if you can"

Our mechanical watch is fitted with sapphire crystal, the most resistant
crystal there is. Sapphire is a naturally growing crystal and the second
hardest substance on the planet, so hard that only a diamond can
scratch it. This is constructed of crystalised aluminum oxide and has
the same physical attributes as the natural sapphire but without the
colouring. The end result is beautiful, but more importantly hardly
unbreakable. Sapphire rates 9 around the Moh scale (that’s the measures
of relative hardness of materials) and it is just behind diamond which
measures 10. The best quality swiss watches uses only Sapphire Crystal.

316L Stainless Steel Case

"Don't crack under pressure"

Stainless
steel is among the most protective shields around. Viqueria Roma watch is manufactured in 316L stainless steel, the same steel used
to make surgical equipment that’s ultra-resistant and never oxidizes.
316L steel
is a grade of stainless steel, used to make surgical and diving
equipments, that has extra-low carbon content and is extremely resistant
to corrosion such as seawater or acidic liquids. Our steel is also
magnetic resistant, unlike the general-use stainless steel grade
of 201or 304L. With Molybdenum added, it
gives 316L a better overall corrosion-resistant property than 304L. Plus,
our stainless steel’s low carbon content makes it particularly
resistant to corrosion from acids typically found in the ocean and in
perspiration.

Standard Watch Straps paired with Dial Color

2 year international warranty:VIQUERIA offers a limited
international warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for a
period of TWO (2) year after original purchase from VIQUERIAItalian Watch Co.

This means that if the components or materials in your watch aren’t
right, or if the watch isn’t functioning correctly, we’ll repair or
replace it at our discretion. We don't cover normal wear and tear or,
crystal, watch case, strap, bracelet, water damages, loss or theft. You will void your
warranty if you open the caseback, or forget to screw down or push in
the crown and expose the internal components of your watch to moisture.

Proof of purchase is required for all warranty claims and service
requests, so hold onto your warranty card. VIQUERIA will not accept a
warranty claim or repair request if a watch has evidence of excessive
wear or misuse.

The warranty book will be published on Viqueria website.

To ensure the maximum level of quality we will ship our watches with insured express courier. Some shipping limitations could be applied by the parcel service.

Furthermore, we want to underline that our watches are personally shipped by us from Italy.

The responsibility for taxes and duties are buyer side.

We would like to thank our family, friends, Kickstarter FB community, watches enthusiasts and everyone who helped us throughout this journey.

A
special thanks to Carmine, Dan, Antonio, Dennis (Giuseppe), Alessandro, Philipp, Raffaele, as well as Alessandra, Sara and Nicole - for all the love, support and help throughout
the campaign.

You have all been incredibly inspiring, and absolutely instrumental at making this odyssey possible. Thank you.

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Risks and challenges

Backers are responsible for any Duty/VAT/GST charges for their own country, which may vary according to each country’s legal and taxation structure. VIQUERIA legally cannot pay for or compensate customers for their own country’s Duties or VAT or GST. Upon purchasing a VIQUERIA Italian Watch Co., you are acknowledging that you are aware of and intend to pay for your own Duties or VAT or GST on your purchase. For more information or to calculate your Duty/VAT/GST please visit this website: http://www.thevatcalculator.com/international-vat-and-gst-calculator/

Some countries or postal services are known for being slow with customs or shipping - but we do our best to make sure our products are shipped out on time (or often, early). We always endeavor to keep you up to date on shipping information, but we hope you understand that once the product leaves our hands - there’s often little we can do to speed things up with our shipping partners or your country’s customs department. If you do run into any trouble - please contact us directly at: info@viqueriawatches.com

When manufacturing physical goods, production delays are a very real problem. While we’ve never experienced that before with our manufacturers, we would like to assure you that if we do experience any delays, it would be due to us ensuring that we’re delivering the best product with the best quality possible. However, once our campaign closes, we promise to deliver what you’ve bought - and will keep everyone abreast of any and all changes in timeline (if any).